Sustainability Stories

Sustainability Stories
Program Type: Classroom program
Audience Type: Grades 6–12
Description: Students write and share stories about how they are making more
sustainable choices.
Topics: Sustainability, storytelling, writing, environment, transportation, choices,
community
Process Skills Focus: Observing, collaboration, categorizing
LEARNING
OBJECTIVES


Students will practice their storytelling and listening skills.
Participants will feel they are making a difference in their communities.
TIME REQUIRED
Advance
Preparation
15 minutes
Set Up
Activity
10 minutes
60+ minutes
Clean Up
10 minutes
SITE
REQUIREMENTS

Flat surfaces for writing on
Sustainability Stories
1-hour class
1
OMSI
2014
PROGRAM
FORMAT
Segment
Introduction
Brainstorming ideas
Writing stories
Sharing stories
Format
Large group discussion
Individual Activity
Partner Activity
Instructor-led Activity
Time
15 min
15 min
30 min
10 min
SUPPLIES
Supplies
Pens or pencils
Story sheets (see below; available in
English & Spanish)
Blank paper
Computer with internet access and a
computer projector
Amount
1 per student
1 per student
1 per sheet
1
ADVANCE
PREPARATION


Gather pens/pencils and blank paper
Make copies of the story sheet (one page, printed on the front and back)
If completing the optional extension:
 Make sure that the digital recording devices are charged
 Download the Audacity free recording software onto computers that the
students can use to edit their stories
SET UP
SET UP

Navigate to the “Voices” section of OMSI’s Local Voices, Clever Choices
website (http://choices.omsi.edu/stories) and project the screen if a
computer projector is available.
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1-hour class
2
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INTRODUCTION
15 minutes
Suggested script is shaded. Important points or questions are in bold. Possible
answers are shown in italics.
Let students speculate before offering answers to any questions. The answers
given are provided primarily for the instructor’s benefit.
Listen to one of the following “sustainability stories” on the “Voices” section of the
Local Voices, Clever Choices website:
Dorothy, Frugal Fashionista
Dorothy moved to Portland from Jamaica when she was 22. When life in the US got
difficult, she drew on her faith and ingenuity to start a new business making fabulous
children’s clothing using whatever resources she could find.
Deysi and Ivonne, Two-Wheel Duo
By learning about bicycle maintenance and safety education through the Community
Cycling Center's programs, Deysi and her daughter Ivonne discovered their personal
potential. Deysi received hands-on bike maintenance training while a member of
Andando en Bicicletas en Cully, a bike committee in the Cully neighborhood. Ivonne
gained confidence through Community Cycling Center's Bike Club program.
Mark, Roadside Revolutionary
This is Mark. He and his neighbors transformed a typical intersection into Share-It
Square—a collective space that now brings their whole community together.
What “sustainable choice” did the storyteller make?
[Answers for Dorothy, Frugal Fashionista] She decided to sew children’s clothing
to save money. Dorothy also used recycled materials to reduce waste.
What are some of the sustainable choices you’ve made?
Riding your bicycle instead of asking your parents to drive you, cooking food at
home instead of eating at a restaurant, borrowing books from a library, donating
clothes to a thrift store.
What is sustainability? We can divide this concept into three parts, or pillars.
Draw this Venn diagram on the board for the students to see:
Sustainability Stories
1-hour class
3
OMSI
2014
Sustainability is composed of the environment (air, water, animals), society
(education, health, safety), and the economy (money, jobs, businesses).
What are some examples of each pillar?
Environment: Parks, gardens, reducing pollution
Social: Community groups, schools, after-school sports
Economic: Jobs, houses, going to restaurants
What environmental impacts did the storyteller’s choice have? How about social
and economic impacts?
Dorothy saved cloth from going to waste by re-using it (environmental). She
contributed to a stronger community by providing handmade, quality clothing for
people (social). Dorothy sold her clothes to make money (economic).
Repeat this same analysis using another video from the Local Voices, Clever
Choices website.
INDIVIDUAL
ACTIVITY
15 minutes
Hand out a story sheet to each student and pens/pencils. Instruct the students
that they’ll be filling out the front page of the story sheet.
Think about sustainable choices you’ve made and write down two ideas for a
story relating to sustainability.
Lead a class discussion in which students share one of their ideas. Brainstorm
how the stories can be developed to have a meaningful beginning, middle, and
end.
Sustainability Stories
1-hour class
4
OMSI
2014
PARTNER
ACTIVITY
30 minutes
Arrange students in pairs.
Share your two story ideas with your partner. Decide with your partner which of
your two sustainability ideas would make a better story. Fill out the back page of
your story sheet.
Create artwork on your story sheet that shows a scene from your story –
drawing, a collage, etc.
WRAP-UP
10 minutes
Lead a discussion about what stories the students chose to write about. Ask a
few students to volunteer to share their stories.
Optional homework assignment: students can write a short essay of their stories
and create accompanying digital artwork that can be loaded onto the Local
Voices, Clever Choices website.
CLEAN UP

Pick up and put away writing and artwork materials.
OPTIONAL
EXTENSIONS
Poetry: Students can create a poem from their story.
Artwork: Students can create artwork such as a drawing, collage, or photo slide
show to accompany their stories.
Audio slideshow: Students can record themselves telling their stories using a
phone or tablet. Use the Audacity software to edit the recording and upload the
stories to OMSI’s Local Voices, Clever Choices website (www.omsi.edu/choices):
Sustainability Stories
1-hour class
5
OMSI
2014
Supplies
Audacity (free online recording
software)
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Digital recording devices (phones,
tablets, etc.)
Computer with internet access
Amount
1 copy
1 per 2–3
students
1
BACKGROUND
INFORMATION
Clever Together (Juntos somos ingeniosos) is a permanent bilingual exhibit at
OMSI in the Earth Science hall that focuses on the small but important choices
we make every day and which impact our environment, community, and
economy.
Local Voices, Clever Choices website: the online companion to Clever Together
features stories of people who are already making inspiring choices in their
everyday lives to contribute to a more sustainable Portland:
http://choices.omsi.edu/
NEXT GENERATION
SCIENCE STANDARDS
Practices
1. Asking questions and defining problems
2. Planning and carrying out investigations
3. Constructing explanations and designing solutions
4. Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating
information
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1-hour class
6
Crosscutting Concepts
1. Cause and effect
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2014
What is your sustainability story?
Sustainability Stories are about choices that we make to improve our
communities and the positive effects these choices have on our lives.
What stories do you have about trying something new and discovering
unexpected social, economic, or environmental benefits?
Name(s)___________________________________________________________
What are your ideas for a sustainability story?
1) _________________________________________________________________
2) _________________________________________________________________
Which story idea is the most interesting? Why?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Which story idea has a clear beginning, middle, and end? What happens in each part of
the story?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Which story results in more environmental, social, and economic benefits? What are
they?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Sustainability Stories
1-hour class
7
OMSI
2014
Share your Sustainability Story!
Use the questions below to discover more interesting details of your
story. Then, use this information to write your sustainability story. If
you want, you can even add it to the Local Voices, Clever Choices
website at www.omsi.edu/choices!*
What city and neighborhood do you live in? ___________________________________
Title for your story (6 words or less) _________________________________________
What sustainable choice did you make?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
What inspired you?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
What was the biggest challenge? How did you overcome it?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
What are the benefits? Are there any that you didn’t expect?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
How is your life different now than before you made this change?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Draw or attach a picture of you in action
(*If you’re under 13, you’ll need permission and help from an adult to share your story.)
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1-hour class
8
OMSI
2014
¿Cuál es tu historia sustentable?
Las historias sustentables relatan las decisiones que tomamos para
mejorar nuestras comunidades y los impactos positivos que esas
decisiones tienen en nuestras vidas. ¿Qué historias puedes compartir
que comuniquen algo nuevo que intentaste y donde descubriste
beneficios sociales, económicos o medioambientales?
Nombre(s)___________________________________________________________
¿Qué ideas tienes para crear historias sustentables?
1) _________________________________________________________________
2) _________________________________________________________________
¿Cuál es la idea más interesante? ¿Por qué?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
¿Qué historia tiene un comienzo, desarrollo y final más claro? ¿Qué sucede en cada parte
de la historia?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
¿Qué historia tiene más resultados positivos en los aspectos medioambientales, sociales y
económicos? ¿Cuáles son estos resultados?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Sustainability Stories
1-hour class
9
OMSI
2014
¡Comparte tu historia sustentable!
Utiliza las preguntas que están a continuación para descubrir
detalles interesantes acerca de tu historia. Luego usa esta
información para escribir tu historia sustentable. Si quieres, puedes
agregarla a la página de internet de Nuestras voces, nuestras
decisiones: www.omsi.edu/decisiones (*)
Nombre(s) _____________________________________________________________
¿En qué ciudad y vecindario vives? __________________________________________
Título de tu historia (6 palabras o menos) _____________________________________
¿Qué decisión sustentable tomaste?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
¿Qué te inspiró?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
¿Cuál ha sido el mayor reto? ¿Alguno que no te esperabas?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
¿Qué diferencia existe en tu vida después de haber tomado esta decisión y haber hecho
este cambio?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Dibuja una imagen de tuya en acción
(*Si eres menor de 13 años, necesitarás el permiso y la ayuda de un adulto para compartir
tu historia).
Sustainability Stories
1-hour class
10
OMSI
2014